Town’s planned €4.5m drainage works rescheduled
A number of tourist-reliant businesses in Youghal feared they could go bust if the much-needed works began as originally planned in June.
However, Youghal Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, Irish Water and Cork County Council have agreed changes to the schedule to lessen impact on the town’s commercial centre.
Pipe laying on Strand Street will not now go ahead until October and will take place around the school mid-term break so as to reduce disruption to parents.
Changes are also to be made to the project design so that it should not be necessary to close South Main Street to traffic in June. The agreement states “should a closure be necessary, it will be kept to a minimum period of time”.
Irish Water also agreed to keep Youghal Chamber of Commerce fully briefed on the project schedule so that appropriate signage can be erected and channels of communication remain open.
Youghal Chamber vice-president Nick Ryan said: “We are pleased that a most difficult issue was resolved in such a prompt and professional manner.”
Local businesses have said tourist and commercial traffic in June, July and August is vital to their survival for the rest of the year. And town councillors had complained that the town hadn’t been given enough notice of the impending works.
Up to 9km of new pipework is to be laid and the existing network and pumping station upgraded as part of the Irish Water project. A new wastewater treatment plant is also to be built at Youghal so that untreated water will no longer be pumped into the estuary.
